Turkey army fortifies positions in Syria's Idlib facing Kurdish Afrin

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Turkish army over the weekend continued to fortify positions it took as part of a de-escalation of conflict deal with Iran and Russia in a Syrian province held by al-Qaeda affiliates, just three to four miles away from the Kurdish region of Afrin.

In over 10 locations, the Turkish military was strengthening bases with ongoing construction during the day and night, reported Ankara’s official news agency Anadolu.

Turkey could use its observation posts across Afrin in a future operation against the Kurdish forces there, as reiterated by Saturday remarks from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

The task of the Turkish army in Idlib, though, is participation in efforts to decrease the level of conflict between the Syrian regime and the armed opposition led by al-Qaeda affiliates Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham per a summer Astana deal between Moscow, Tehran, and Ankara.

The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have announced that any Turkish attempts to invade the isolated enclave of Afrin would face a strong response.

“Any military operation led by Turkish forces in Afrin will fail as it would elicit a harsh and unexpected response,” Rezan Gilo, head of the Defense and Self-Protection Body in Afrin, told Kurdistan 24 earlier this week.

Ankara’s latest move means an almost full encirclement of Afrin which is surrounded from the west and north by the Turkish border and in the east with Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups.

Elsewhere, in Turkey’s southern Hatay Province, neighboring both Idlib and Afrin, military buildup continued.

Heavy equipment was used to dig trenches as armored military vehicles, tanks, and more troops were deployed in the area, state media reported.

In the meantime, Ankara rejected a call by the Syrian government to leave its soil in no time.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany